Ån
@feralresearch.org
Computational queer. Arts, culture, design. Riding the global frequency of weird and working on a better future. Sometimes I academic, less so lately. See also: https://bsky.app/profile/foxriot.com http://andrewsempere.org
Public talk on next-gen VR I gave at Fabville in Somerville, MA. On virtual worlds, furry and building a better post-platform internet by centering community: www.youtube.com/watch?v=6FYA...
Fabville 2026: Next-Gen VR: What if we built this one ourselves?
YouTube video by feralresearch
youtube.com
Psstt... a few of you are here because a friend told you I sometimes drop haunted mixtapes, which is true! They're usually part of my newsletter, but also archived here: mixtape.secretvenue.org
Mixtape Browser
Browse and listen to a collection of Mixtape recordings
mixtape.secretvenue.org
I just keep thinking about that billionare thing where they were like "no actually we should just do the olympics but like with everyone on drugs" and it fell apart because it turns out it's fucking boring.
"Yes, an AI system might remix and recycle our knowledge in interesting ways. But that’s all it will be able to do. It will be forever trapped in the vocabulary we’ve encoded in our data and trained it upon — a dead-metaphor machine." archive.is/202605101650...
archive.is
LLMs are Temu Intelligence "Rather than memory palaces, dialogue with an LLM produces Ptomkin villages of intelligence, giving you the emotional satisfaction of believing you have insight while requiring none of the effort. This is dunning-kruger-as-a-service." feralresearch.org/newsletter/l...
LLMs are Temu Intelligence
In my last newsletter I talked a lot about the effort that's gone into getting you to believe the services you use are free. I think the LLMs-as-AI industry specifically weaponizes this infrastructura...
feralresearch.org
The only adjudication that can be laid somewhat globally is through American tech companies, who everyone secretly wants to act as sovereign transnational governments for their own ideological axe.
"The Internet is Dead, But You're Not" New newsletter up at feral research. feralresearch.org/newsletter/t...
The Internet is Dead, But You're Not
Newsletter Mix #03Ån Where do we begin? As of a few weeks ago, Feral Research LLC became a real entity. As of a few days ago, we actually signed a handful of clients and some neat projects, not enou...
feralresearch.org
Rare lovely nerd-town moment with my favorite people <3
Anindita Basu Sempere@anindita.org · last yr.A very Cambridge evening — @feralresearch.org, @debcha.bsky.social, M, and I went to see @robgmacfarlane.bsky.social in conversation with @joriegraham.bsky.social. Felt like old times, and my head and heart are happy. I like getting to think about place. And syntax. But mostly place.
“…the rest you will have to learn from women and queers — out in the dark. Also, don’t be too artistic to count your own receipts. Also, carry your pistol. There are thugs out there.” #happyPride #futw
“understanding hypernormalization gives us language – and permission – to recognize when systems are failing, and clarifies the risk of not taking action when we can.”
Ån@feralresearch.org · last yr.“the visceral sense of waking up in an alternate timeline with a deep, bodily knowing that something isn’t right – but having no clear idea how to fix it” www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
“the visceral sense of waking up in an alternate timeline with a deep, bodily knowing that something isn’t right – but having no clear idea how to fix it” www.theguardian.com/wellness/ng-...
Systems are crumbling - but daily life continues. The dissonance is real
If everything feels broken but strangely normal, the Soviet-era concept of hypernormalization can help
theguardian.com
We have had an impact on the local Francophone scene
Anindita Basu Sempere@anindita.org · last yr.Omg my child has every kid in French class saying “nonante” instead of “quatre-vingt dix” 😂
I donated design time to help our local volunteer pride group with their signs and promotional material and it’s awesome to see them popping up everywhere. Each a small gesture but especially here and this year, solidarity means a lot.
Sometimes I feel like we didn’t entirely fail as parents
Anindita Basu Sempere@anindita.org · last yr.My child is singing along to Baby Lasagna 😂
I don’t really agree with the framing or the analysis here, but fascinating to me that Superhot feels like it’s missing something because it is… I’ve played through twice and wasn’t aware there was a story clawback, just assumed it was unfinished. cw: discussion of suicide
Gio :⁾@im.giovanh.com · last yr.SUPERHOT VR had its whole story patched out. I thought about it slightly too long and fell into rabbit hole. It doesn't make sense, it's bad that it happened, and it prompts a whole bunch of naval-gazing about Art.
Also Quill is adorable (if you haven’t played Moss you should)
Polyarc Games@polyarcgames.com · last yr.🚨Quill is coming to @vrchat.com!!🚨 You can now run, dance, wave, jump, and even use modified ASL gestures AS your favorite heroine! 👋💃🐭 Quill launches soon in the VRChat Avatar Marketplace! #VRChat #VRChatCommunity #Moss #Quill #Avatar #Mouse
Another major feature out today! Couldn’t be more humbled and impressed by my brilliant coworkers. As an established user you might not get the big deal, but getting creators paid while providing folks w/ fast secure access to an identity that feels right is core and I’m thrilled. Onward!
VRChat@vrchat.com · last yr.For once, the rumors are true! Avatar Marketplace is coming soon to #VRChat ! Check out our video for more information: youtu.be/MWH1RA3bEz0
Are you going to PAX? Come hang out on Saturday with a bunch of furry nerds (including me) and debate the inherent furry-ness of various game characters! Why? Why not. east.paxsite.com/en-us/schedu...
Listing
east.paxsite.com
Stick me in a bunker, and I’ll sing Portishead. Too much Tank Girl in my youth, I guess 🤷🏾♀️
Ån@feralresearch.org · last yr.The acoustics were wild…
